MORGANZA, Md. (WJZ) — New developments in the case of the Southern Maryland boy who suffers from autism allegedly abused by two girls.

Mary Bubala has the latest.

One of the teenage girls accused of abusing that boy will be treated as a juvenile in the court system. The victim’s father is now speaking out, saying he’s upset with the judge’s decision.

The Saint Mary’s County judge spent nearly 45 minutes in his private chambers, watching the videotaped abuse. When he returned to court, he described how the 17-year-old girl beat and humiliated the teenage boy with autism, how she forced the Chopticon High student to fall through ice on a frozen pond and how she held a knife to his throat.

He called the girl a criminal with a chilling lack of empathy. He also said she is a juvenile, not an adult, and should be treated as one by the court. It is not what the victim’s father wanted to hear.

“I think that she’s a predator that preyed upon a weak and vulnerable person. And I’m afraid for my family and the community,” he said.

We’re protecting his identity in order to protect his son’s. The Saint Mary’s County resident says his boy is high-functioning, but was used and abused by the girl.

“It would be similar to if she was working in an assisted living facility and someone was physically vulnerable and she was abusing them,” the victim’s father said.

Friday, after the case was moved to juvenile court, the girl with her lawyers and her parents at her side admitted her guilt to a charge of second-degree assault and the creation of obscene material.

“She now will be treated in a rehabilitative and therapeutic setting in the juvenile system,” said Brian Thompson, the suspect’s attorney.

As for the victim, his father discounts reports that he didn’t mind the treatment he got and he actually misses being with the girl.

“He’s struggling. I’m trying to make things as normal as possible so he can attend school and strive,” he said.

The victim’s mother told reporters off-camera she agreed with the judge’s decision.

The teenage girl faced up to 80 years in prison if she had been tried in court as an adult and convicted.